Hip-Hop

The latest CD release reviewed

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An England Story Soul Jazz ****

Soul Jazz, trusted curator of UK sounds and scenes, has delivered a wide, deep history of MC culture. Including everybody from those old school rhymers who grabbed the mic to chat over dancehall, jungle and garage beats, to the current wave of lyrical roughnecks putting their thoughts over dubstep and grime grooves, An England Story is a vibrant history lesson in the art of

the MC. All the major players are covered, as are such early pioneers as Smiley Culture, London Posse, General Levy, Tenor Fly and Top Cat. As the music evolves and splinters into different dubby subdivisions, the ability of such MCs as Warrior Queen, Riko (who turns Wiley's Ice Rink Riddim into a blistering tour-de- force) and Navigator (raving away with The Freestylers) to represent the many strands of British black culture is all the more striking. www.souljazzrecords.co.uk

Download tracks: Riko, Ice Rink Riddim; Warrior Queen & The Heatwave, Things Change; Tippa Irie, Complain Neighbour